Reply #7: I've stated this before in other threads when asked this... [View All]

[krispos42]

what sort of arms should be legal. While it is true that full-auto weapons and artillery are fully legal, they are tightly controlled, limited in number, and subject to strict law-enforcement scrutiny of the buyer. I'll leave that where it lies and instead define what the general public should be able to get with only an instant background check.

Arms:

A weapon that can be carried several miles and operated by a single person without undo fatigue. The weapon must only be able to fire discriminate shots. Weapons are not allowed to fire fully-automatic, as that is non-discrimintory fire, nor can they fire explosive shells, the burst pattern of which is also non-discrimitory fire.

This means that a machine gun or a mortar are not "arms", but a shotgun, pistol, or rifle is.

The National Firearms Act of 1934 sets the ceiling for rifled guns at .50 caliber, with exceptions for shotguns, and for antiques like the .58-caliber rifled muskets of the Civil War. That line seems to be widely accepted and the country largely content with it.